To the Pomona College Community:
As has been reported in TSL, I am retiring at the end of June, leaving my position as Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Smith Campus Center. I have held this position for 18 ½ years, capping a 40+ year career in higher education. Although I will return to Pomona in the fall to a part-time role centering on Bridges Auditorium and Emergency Preparation, I will no longer serve as ASPC advisor, dean, SCC director, or in myriad other roles that I have treasured over these past two decades.
I write to say thank you and goodbye. Thanks to the thousands of Pomona students with whom I have worked and interacted. Thanks to the many staff and faculty friends who have made my time at Pomona memorable and important. Thanks to the many alumni who have remained in contact with Joan and me, years after their departure.
Pomona has been the perfect capstone to years of service as a college/university educator. It is an extraordinary place by all measures. It attracts the best and the brightest as students, educators and staff. It nurtures and protects, nourishes and encourages, and supports people when they leave. It is truly a family affair. And, like all families, we don’t always get along. But like great families do, we finds ways to engage in honest and open dialogue, learn and grow from each other, heal and move forward.
To the class of 2011, I wish you well as you leave. Your future is unlimited. To everyone else, I thank you for being part of my experience and know that Pomona will continue to grow from strength to strength.
Neil Gerard
Associate Dean of Students
Director, Smith Campus
Center and Student
Programs
Director, Bridges
Auditorium